Mac In Oak Ridge
Member
Having made and sold a few fountain pens and reading the comments here recently, I decided that I needed to use one on a regular basis to find out what the deal was.
I have a Barron FP made of African Black wood that developed some splitting, three actually, about a week or two after I made it. Can't sell it so I started carrying it.
I put the ink cartridge in it that came with the pen. After some fiddling around I got flow to the nib and could make marks with it. Actually make marks sometimes.
Then the frustration set in. I work in an office and frequently answer a phone with someone on the other end that is giving me some information. I pull out the pen and start to write what ever down. It wouldn't make any marks on the paper. Had to quickly grab another pen and ask the person to repeat the information. That happened a few times and I quit using it for that.
I sign purchase orders all day long. I tried using it for that. I would start to put my signature on the paper and nothing would come out of the nib. Shake the pen, and try again, nothing.
I started opening the pen up and squeezing on the cartridge to see if that would start the ink flow. I'd get a little ink and then it would stop again. More frustration.
After about two weeks of this kind of thing going on time and time again, suddenly the pen started working like it is supposed to.
There ain't no magic going on, something was preventing the flow of ink and what ever it was went away.
I am old enough to remember when fountain pens were common. It was quite ordinary for a person to have a piece of paper handy, on their desk or where ever. That piece of paper was to "start" your pen on. When you were going to write something you would first mark a short line on the paper to get the ink flowing. A busy person would have a piece of paper the size of a 3X5 card all marked up by the end of the day with little 1/4" long lines. I expect that. I use the pen, put the cap on and put it back in my pocket, nib end up. The effect of gravity will pull the ink out of the nib so it will need "starting" before use.
But back to the thing not working and then suddenly it did. Something caused that. There is nothing between the ink source and the point of the nib but a passage way for the ink. Something in there was causing the problem and what ever it was worked it's way out. My suspicion is the slot or split in the nib. I think, somehow in the making of the nib there is some kind of material that fills that little slit. Perhaps metal working lubricant, perhaps some kind of solvent from the plating process, don't know what.
My next experiment is to take the nib out of the nib holder and to clean the nib, the slit in the nib that is. Have to be real careful but I should be able to find some very thin, stiff, material, drafting mylar or something like that to slide into that little slit and work it around with some water on it to clean it out.
Any thoughts by you guys that have worked on or worked over fountain pens?
I have a Barron FP made of African Black wood that developed some splitting, three actually, about a week or two after I made it. Can't sell it so I started carrying it.
I put the ink cartridge in it that came with the pen. After some fiddling around I got flow to the nib and could make marks with it. Actually make marks sometimes.
Then the frustration set in. I work in an office and frequently answer a phone with someone on the other end that is giving me some information. I pull out the pen and start to write what ever down. It wouldn't make any marks on the paper. Had to quickly grab another pen and ask the person to repeat the information. That happened a few times and I quit using it for that.
I sign purchase orders all day long. I tried using it for that. I would start to put my signature on the paper and nothing would come out of the nib. Shake the pen, and try again, nothing.
I started opening the pen up and squeezing on the cartridge to see if that would start the ink flow. I'd get a little ink and then it would stop again. More frustration.
After about two weeks of this kind of thing going on time and time again, suddenly the pen started working like it is supposed to.
There ain't no magic going on, something was preventing the flow of ink and what ever it was went away.
I am old enough to remember when fountain pens were common. It was quite ordinary for a person to have a piece of paper handy, on their desk or where ever. That piece of paper was to "start" your pen on. When you were going to write something you would first mark a short line on the paper to get the ink flowing. A busy person would have a piece of paper the size of a 3X5 card all marked up by the end of the day with little 1/4" long lines. I expect that. I use the pen, put the cap on and put it back in my pocket, nib end up. The effect of gravity will pull the ink out of the nib so it will need "starting" before use.
But back to the thing not working and then suddenly it did. Something caused that. There is nothing between the ink source and the point of the nib but a passage way for the ink. Something in there was causing the problem and what ever it was worked it's way out. My suspicion is the slot or split in the nib. I think, somehow in the making of the nib there is some kind of material that fills that little slit. Perhaps metal working lubricant, perhaps some kind of solvent from the plating process, don't know what.
My next experiment is to take the nib out of the nib holder and to clean the nib, the slit in the nib that is. Have to be real careful but I should be able to find some very thin, stiff, material, drafting mylar or something like that to slide into that little slit and work it around with some water on it to clean it out.
Any thoughts by you guys that have worked on or worked over fountain pens?
]